UNBS withholds 100 tonnes of Covid-19 relief food over poor quality

Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) has said it has withheld over 100 tonnes of coronavirus relief food including both posho and beans over poor quality.

According to the quality body, 63 tonnes were for maize flour, whereas 41 tonnes were for beans that were meant government’s relief distribution program for vulnerable families in Kampala and Wakiso affected by the Covid-19 lockdown.

“We have had challenges especially with beans and they are telling us it is because of the season. We have rejected many tonnes and they have had to take them back and return them after sorting,” said UNBS Executive Director, Ben Manyindo.

The UNBS boss said the move to check the quality of food distributed to vulnerable people in Kampala followed numerous complaints followed numerous complaints from members of the public promoting the quality body to swing into action.

He said that in just one week, they have found 104 tonnes of relief food including food donated by well-wishers was not meeting the required standards.

Early this week, businessman Apollo Nyegamehe commonly known as Aponye was in the spotlight for allegedly supplying substandard food, deemed to be unfit for human consumption.

The Minister for Kampala, Betty Amongi said that Aponye’s supply contract had been terminated after officials from the Office of the Prime Minister discovered that the food consignments he had supplied were of poor quality.

“When they tested some of those consignments which were in big volume which would have served for the period of Easter were found not fit for consumption by UNBS,” she said.

Musa Ecweru, the state minister for Disaster Preparedness singled out the businessman’s firm as one of the companies that failed Uganda National Bureau of Standards tests.

“Aponye had some challenges, food was found to have some foreign bodies like the beans were not clean, so they were told to go, “Ecweru said.

Ecweru also said that the firm is free to re-apply on condition if they source good quality food.

However, Aponye denied supplying substandard food, challenging the minister to produce a certificate that shows that he supplied food of poor quality.

“I have never supplied substandard food. The minister should produce a certificate that shows that I supplied substandard foods, the allegation is not true,” he said.